Key Timing
The Future Remains Uncertain for Long-Neglected Virginia Key. The Time to Save It Is Now, Say Preservationists

“We have been receiving calls from developers — but not directly from them; it’s always their attorneys.”

By Omar Sommereyns

Ravenous buzzards often hover around the dilapidated marine stadium on Virginia Key, occasionally landing to pick at the heaps of trash strewn across the area. Hardly anyone ever comes here anymore, save for graffiti artists who have already saturated the entire structure in spray-paint, city workers and an irritable security guard seated beside an old, beat-up Toyota who only speaks Spanish in petulant bursts.

“Cierre la reja!” he kept shouting on a recent sun-drenched afternoon. “No photo! No photo!”

Hell-bent on preventing people from going past the gate and taking pictures in the stadium, the guard wouldn’t reveal his name and it couldn’t be determined whether or not he worked for the city or county. All that signaled he was with security was a brown shirt he wore with the words “Enforcement Protective Agency” printed on it.

When the facility was built in 1963, people would watch boat races, fireworks displays and concerts, but the damage from Hurricane Andrew forced it to close down in 1992, and the city of Miami has neglected it ever since.

“It’s a shame — this is really the best view we have of downtown Miami,” said Greg Bush as he inspected the grounds on a recent tour of the Key. “I am definitely concerned that the marine stadium site be used for ‘public purpose’ rather than become suctioned off for hotels alone.”

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